Railroad plate with spikes



RAILROAD PLATE WITH SPIKE Filed July '7, 1944 Patented Mar. 1l, 1947 2,417,385 RAILROAD PLATE WITH 'SPIRES Henry L. Tilly, New Orleans, La.

Application July 7, 1944, Serial No. 543,904

5 Claims. (Cl. 238-294) This invention relatswto improvements in a railway tie plate and spike and has for its primary object rmly to anchor a railroad rail to a cross tie and hold it against accidental displacement.`

Another object of the invention is'accuratelyto locate a railroad rail at the time of its installation and to insure that it remains in the initial position throughout the entire life thereof;

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies.

among its features a railway tie plate and a spike which are adapted to cooperate so that when the spike is driven home a substantialiy unitary structural effect results, and the shifting of one element with the other in any direction is precluded.

Other features embody a tie plate having apertures therein forthe reception of large nails by which the tie plate may be secured in place preliminary to the setting of the rail and the final driving of the spikes which anchor the railroad rail in place, an upstanding guide lug on the tie plate for engaging the rail iiange to insure its accurate location on the tie plate, the tie plate also being provided with openings for the reception of the rail spikes, which openings are of a size and shape to cooperate with a shoulder on each spike when the latter is driven home toinsure accurate location of the spike with relation to the tie plate, cross tie and rail, means for guiding the spike during its insertion into the tie, and spurs on the spikes so arranged as not to interfere with the insertion of the spike through the openings and yet so arranged as to retard the withdrawal of the spike from its place in the tie.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan Aview of a fragmentv of a railroad tie and rail-showing my improved tie plate and spikes employed therewith,

Figure 2 is a. transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2- of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 on a somewhat enlarged scale, l

Figure 4 is a plan view of the tie plate,

Figure 5 is a side view of a spikeembodying the features of this invention,l

Figure 6 is a front end view thereof,

Figure' is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 6 on the same scale as` Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a tie I extends cross ways of a rail II as in the ordinary construction and the rail'is seated on my improved tie plate designated generally I2.

plate I2 comprises a body portion I3 having in opposite corners openings I 4 for the insertion of positioning and locating nails I (Figure 2) which are driven into the railway tie I0 through the openings Il as a preliminary step to insure proper location of the plate I3 on the tie. Carried by the plate I3 on its upper face is a stop I6 against which the ange of the rail II is adapted to abut when inproper position as shown in Figure l. Thisstop I6 may be formed integrally with the plate I3 or may constitutev a separate strip of metal welded in place in the proper position.

-Formed in the plate I3 are rectangular openings I1, two of which are arranged so that their inner walls are aligned with the inner edge of the stop -I6 while the third opening I1 is arranged near the opposite side of the tie plate in alignment with the transverse axis of the stop I6. The difference between the inner edge of the stop I6 and the inner edge of the last mentioned opening The I 1 is substantially equal to the Width of the flange of the rail II as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 2. Each of the openings I1 is formed on opposite. sides with inwardly projecting lugs I8 arranged in alignment with one another to serve as guides for the spikes during their insertion into the tie I0.

Each of the spikes referred to designated gen erally I9, each comprises a shank 20 of rectangular cross section having a front ,face 2i, a rear I face 22 and side faces 23. The front face 2l and the rear face 22 are each provided with longitudinallyv extending grooves 24, and the shank is of such dimension that the distance between the front and rear lwalls 2I and 22 fillsl the space between the walls of the slots I1 carrying the lugs I8 while the side walls 23 of the shank never come in contact with the opposite walls of its respectiveslot I1. Formed at one end of the shank is a iiattened point or edge 25and formed at the opposite end of the shank is a head 2B. The head 26 above referred to comprises a forwardly extending rail flange engaging lip 21, the under edge 28 of which is formed to conform to the shape of the flange of the rail and extending laterally from opposite sides of the lip 21 are ears 29, the under edges 30 of which are adapted to engage the upper face of the plate I3 on opposite vends of the opening I1. Formed at the junction of the shank and the head are shoulders 3| which are of a size and shape snugly to fit in the openings I1 of the tie plate so that when the spike is driven home the shoulders, together' with the shank and head of the spike form a tight junction with the tie plate to in effect produce a unitary structure.

In order to securely lock the spikes in the tie IIJ, I provide on opposite sides 23 a plurality of longitudinally spaced serrations 32 and on opposite corners of the shank 20 I provide outwardly extending spurs 33. These spurs 33 are so formed as to project outwardly for a short distance from the shank for binding engagement with the tie I0, though not sufficient to interfere with the entrance of the shank, into the opening I1 in the tie plate. By so disposing the spurs, no interference will be encountered when entering the shankl in the opening I1 and yet the spurs will serve to project outwardly and resist withdrawal with the lugs I8 and upon driving the spike into the tie I0, it will be properly guided so as to` lie in a plane perpendicular to the upper face of the plate I2. As the spike is driven home the head 21 engages the flange of the rail II and the shoulders 3I enter the openings I'I which they are designed to t snugly and tightly so as to effectively lock the tie plate and spikes together i through frictional contact. Due to the fact that the spurs 33 are turned in such a position as to avoid interference with the side walls of the openings I1 it is obvious that they will not be bent or otherwise damaged during the insertion of the spikes and hence will be free to serve their function in resisting withdrawal of the spikes from the tie.

Obviously due to the fact that the serrations 32 are on opposite sidesof the shank 20 and are held out of contact with the end i walls of the slots Il no interference of these ser rations with the insertion of the spikes will be l encountered.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and-scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:-

1. In combination a railway tie plate having at least one substantially rectangular opening the-rein, at least one tongue on the tie plate projecting into the opening, a spike adapted to enter the opening and be driven into a railway tie, said vspike comprising a shank having a groove therein to receive the tongue, a head on the shank, and

. a shoulder at the junction of the shank and head, said shoulder being adapted snugly to t into the opening in the tie plate when the spike is driven home.

2. In combination a railway tie plate having at least one substantially rectangular opening thereinto the opening, a spike adapted to enter the opening and be driven into a railway tie, said in, at least one tongue on the tie plate projecting spike comprising a. shank having a groove thereinto the opening in the tie plate when the spike is driven home, and spurs on the shank for biting into the tie when the spike is driven home where- 1 by the spike will resist withdrawal from the tie.

3. In combination a railway tie plate having a pair of spaced substantially rectangular openings adjacent one side edge, a stop on the upper side i of the tie plate between said openings, said tie plate having a similar substantially rectangular opening near its opposite edge, said last-named opening aligning with the stop, a tongue on the I tie plate projecting into opposite sides of each `opening, spikes adapted to pass through the openings and to bedriven into a tie beneath the plate, each spike comprising a rectangular shank Vin to receive the tongue, a head on the shank, i and a shoulder atthe junction of the shank. and p head, said shoulder being adapted snugly to fit having sides oi.' a. width equal to the width of the respective openings in the tie plate but having ends of a length less than the length of the openings in the tie plate, a head at one end of the shank adapted to engage the ange of a railroad rail resting on the tie plate and shoulders at the junction Vof the head and shank, said shoulders lling the spaces between the ends of the shank and the ends of the openings in the tie plate when the spike is driven home,

4. In combination a railway tie plate having a pair of spaced substantially rectangular openings adjacent one side edge, a stop on the upper side of the tie plate between said openings, said tie,A

plate having a similar substantially rectangular opening near its opposite edge, said last-named opening aligning with the stop, a tongue on the tie plate projecting into opposite sides of each opening, spikes adapted to pass through the openings and to be driven into a tie beneath the plate, each spike comprising a rectangular shankhaving sides of a width equal to the width of the respective openings in the te plate but having ends of length less than the length of the openings in the tie plate, a head at one end of the shank adapted to engage the flange cf a railroad rail resting on the tie plate=and shoulders at the junction of the head and shank, said shoulders filling the spaces between the sides of the shank 'and the ends of the openings in the tie plate when the spike is driven home, and spurs at the corners of the shank for ressting'withdrawal of the spike from the tie.

5. In combination a railway tie plate having a pair of spaced substantially rectangular openings adjacent one side edge, a stop on the upper side of the tie plate between said openings, said tie plate having a similar substantially rectangular opening near its opposite Ledge, said last-named opening aligning with the stop, a tongue on the tie plate projecting into opposite sides of each opening, spikes adapted to pass through the openings and to be driven into a, tie beneath the plate, each spike comprising a rectangular shank having sides of a width equal to the width of the respective openings in the tie plate but having ends oi' a length less than the length of the openings in the tie plate, a head at one end of the shank adapted to engage the flange of a railroad rail resting on the tie plate and shoulders at the junction of the head and shank, said shoulders lling thev spaces between the sides of the shank and the ends of the openings in the tie plate when the spike is driven home, and serrations on the sides of the shank to offer resistance to withdrawal of the spike from the tie.

HENRY L. TILLY.

' lmFERENCEs CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number' Name -Date 971,308 Radoman Sept. 27, 1910 1,199,465 Hotchkiss Sept, 26, 1916 1,214,436 Curry Jan. 30, 1917 1,393,343 Clark Oct. 11, 1921 1,605,129 Meade l Nov. 2, 1926 2,357,629 Cantrell et al Sept. 5, 1944 2,050,432 Hayes Aug. 11, 1936 357,781 Abbott June 25, 1907 1,512.265 Anderson Oct. '21, 1924 1,604,806 Cheney Oct. 26, 1926 1,927,389 Castner Sept. 19. 1933 

